CONSTITUTION
AND BY-LAWS
Revised March 2003
ARTICLE 1 – NAME AND PURPOSE
SECTION 1 – NAME
This club shall be called the
Triangle Bassmasters.
SECTION
2 – PURPOSE
To stimulate
public awareness of bass fishing as a major sport. To
offer our State Conservation Department our organized moral and political
support and encouragement. To promote full adherence to all conservation
codes, to demand adequate water standards and legal enforcement of existing
regulatory standards. To detect and report any polluter and
call public attention to their crime. To improve our
skills as Bass Anglers through a fellowship of friendly exchange of expert bass
catching techniques and ideas. To promote and
encourage youth fishing and a love for this great recreation. To
function as a dynamic and effective link with other clubs embracing the
principles and purposes of the Triangle Bassmasters.
ARTICLE 2 – MEMBERSHIP
SECTION
1 – REQUIREMENT FOR MEMBERSHIP
To become a Club member a person
shall:
(A) Voluntarily express a
genuine interest in membership.
(B) A person may become a member
of Triangle Bassmasters at any time he had two sponsors, attends one meeting,
pays his dues and is voted in by a majority of the members present. Person must
be a member in good standing with dues paid to be eligible for any major
prizes. The prospective new member does not have to be present but must have
completed an application for membership.
(C) Any new member must be
resident of the
(D) All present members who
reside outside of the
(E) Upon becoming a member of
Triangle Bassmasters, each new member will be issued a copy of the By-Laws,
Tournament Schedule and Membership Roster.
SECTION
2 – TYPES OF MEMBERSHIP
There are two types of membership.
(A) Active member – Should
attend a minimum of two thirds of all Club meetings.
(B) Associate member – Children
or grandchildren (15 years old or younger) of an active Club member may be
added to the club membership at the request of the sponsoring member.
Requirements for membership or Club dues do not apply.
SECTION
3 – MEMBERSHIP DUES
(A) The membership dues for
active members shall be $20.00 per calendar year due annually in January, or
upon being voted into the Club. Any person joining before August 31st
will be required to pay their dues in full for that year. Any person joining
after August 31st will only be require to
pay half of the full years dues. All money collected for dues, projects and
tournaments shall be used for the good of ALL members, for tournament prizes,
social activities for their families, annual trophies and prizes.
(B) All Elected Officers shall
receive free membership (Club dues) for that year.
(C) Tournament assistants
appointed by the Tournament Director shall receive $10.00 off their yearly
dues.
(D) All Elected Officers and
Tournament assistants must serve full term o forfeit their above benefits. The
Club must be refunded if the member fails to serve their full term.
(E) Any member that has 20 years
or more collective membership of Triangle Bassmasters will be considered a
“life” member and membership dues will not apply to that member.
ARTICLE 3 – OFFICERS AND THEIR DUTIES
SECTION 1 - THE OFFICERS OF THE CLUB SHALL CONSIST OF :
(1) PRESIDENT – Preside of all
meetings and direct all official business. Appoint and direct all committee
functions. Supervise all Club functions.
(2) VICE-PRESIDENT – Preside in
absence of President. Assist on the Clubs behalf in anyway they can.
(3) SECRETARY – Maintain
accurate minutes of all meetings. Maintain regular liaison between Club and
Bass Anglers Sportsman’s Society National Headquarters and the VA BASS
FEDERATION. Read the minutes of the last meeting to any member who calls or
comes at a reasonable time. Will be responsible for keeping an inventory of
approx. 5 copies of the By-Laws, Tournament Schedule and Members list be issued
to all new members. Will be responsible for generating copies of the By-Laws,
Tournament Schedule and Members list to be distributed to all members present
at the March meeting each year. Any monies spent by the Secretary to perform
his duties are the responsibility of the Club, as long as the Club first
approves the expenditures.
(4) TREASURER – Maintain
accurate financial records and report these records at each club meeting. Give
financial report to anyone who calls or comes by at a reasonable time. Any Club
transaction must be made by check and must be approved by the Club. All checks
must be signed by two current officers and must be set up in an account that
requires this. Anyone approved to send club money, who
pays with cash, must have a valid receipt to be refunded. The Club shall not
write blank checks.
(5) TOURNAMENT DIRECTOR – Chair
all committee meetings associated with tournaments. Shall appoint three (3)
assistants. Take charge of all tournament outings insuring correct starting and
stopping of all club tournaments. Responsible for the weighing in of all fish
caught and insuring that all rules are enforced. Maintain records of each
tournament and maintain the yearly individual and team standings. Report yearly
and team standings at each Club meeting. Give yearly and team standings to
anyone who calls or comes by at a reasonable time.
SECTION
2 – ELECTION OF OFFICERS
The election of officers shall be
held annually at the January meeting each year. Elections shall be by simple
majority of members present.
SECTION
3 – ELIGIBILITY TO VOTE
Each current member is entitled to
one vote. Effective
SECTION
4 – TERM OF OFFICE
The term of office is one year,
which will begin at the January meeting and will end in January of the
following year.
SECTION
5 – VACANCIES OF OFFICE
In the event of an Office vacancy,
nominations shall be asked for and an election will be held to fill the vacated
term of Office.
SECTION
6 – ELIGIBILITY FOR HOLDLING OFFICE
To be eligible for Office, a member
must:
(A) Have been a member for at
least one year.
(B) Have attended at least 50%
of Club meetings or 50% of all Club functions
(C) Have shown an active
interest in all Club functions.
ARTICLE 4 – METHOD OF AMENDING
THE CONSTITUTION AND BY-LAWS
SECTION
1:
(A) The constitution and by-laws
may be amended at any club meeting by a two thirds vote of the Club members
present. Proposed amendments must be presented to the president in writing, for
presentation to the Club members.
(B) The constitution and by-laws
will be reviewed and changes recommended where necessary annually in January by
a voluntary Club committee.
(C) By-laws and Amendments are
in effect for the year dated on the top of the first page only. A copy of the
new By-laws with Amendments added and the new date of copy will be issued to
all active members present at the March meeting of each New Year.
(D) The Secretary will be
responsible for adding any Amendments to the file copy of the By-laws under
Article 4 – Amendments. The secretary will make sure the Tournament Directors
By-laws and kept up to date.
ARTICLE 5 – REMOVAL OF MEMBERSHIP
SECTION
1 - A MEMBER SHALL BE REMOVED FROM THE MEMBERSHIP ROLL FOR THE FOLLOWING -
(A) Failure to pay Club dues by
the last meeting in November (dues are due in January)
(B) Any action that would
reflect dishonor or disgrace on the Club.
ARTICLE 6 – TOURNAMENTS
SECTION
1 – TEN (10) CLUB SCHEDULED TOURNAMENTS
(A) To be eligible to vote on
the ten (10) scheduled tournaments, the member must have fished at least five
(5) of the previous year’s tournaments.
(B) The scheduled tournaments
will be set up annually at the November yearly Club meeting by a committee.
This schedule will be presented and voted upon by membership at the December
yearly Club meeting. Once the tournament schedule has been voted upon, the
Locations, Dates and Starting Times will not be changed unless there is an
extreme emergency. Pounds and hundredths of pounds of eligible fish caught plus
two (2) pounds for participation in each Tournament will be counted toward the
yearly team and individual standings
(C) In each calendar year of ten
(10) tournaments, each member must elect one tournament to be “dropped” from
their individual yearly standings. Yearly team will be based on a total the ten
(10) tournaments.
SECTION
2 – ELIGIBILITY TO FISH SCHEDULED TOURNAMENTS
(A) Any active or associate
member in good standing (dues paid) is eligible to participate in all scheduled
Club tournaments.
(B) Any active member can have a
guest partner for one (1) tournament only. Guests cannot be used during the
“Members Only” tournament (Money Tournament).
(C) Associate members are
eligible for the “Members Only” tournament (Money Tournament).
(D) Any tournament fished will
be added to the yearly individual standings.
(E) In each calendar year of ten
(10) tournaments, each member must elect one tournament to be “dropped” from
their individual yearly standings. Yearly team will be based on a total the ten
(10) tournaments.
SECTION
3 – ENTRY FEES
The entry fee for all Club scheduled
tournaments will be $20.00 per participant.
SECTION
4 – TOURNAMENT PAYOUT
|
Boats |
Total $ |
Club $ |
Big Fish |
Remainder |
1st |
2nd |
3rd |
4th |
5th |
|
1 |
40 |
4 |
5 |
32 |
32 |
|
|
|
|
|
2 |
80 |
7 |
10 |
63 |
38 |
25 |
|
|
|
|
3 |
120 |
11 |
15 |
95 |
57 |
38 |
|
|
|
|
4 |
160 |
14 |
20 |
126 |
76 |
50 |
|
|
|
|
5 |
200 |
18 |
25 |
158 |
95 |
63 |
|
|
|
|
6 |
240 |
21 |
30 |
189 |
113 |
76 |
|
|
|
|
7 |
280 |
25 |
35 |
221 |
132 |
88 |
|
|
|
|
8 |
320 |
28 |
40 |
252 |
151 |
101 |
|
|
|
|
9 |
360 |
32 |
45 |
284 |
170 |
113 |
|
|
|
|
10 |
400 |
35 |
50 |
315 |
158 |
95 |
63 |
|
|
|
11 |
440 |
39 |
55 |
347 |
173 |
104 |
69 |
|
|
|
12 |
480 |
42 |
60 |
378 |
189 |
113 |
76 |
|
|
|
13 |
520 |
46 |
65 |
410 |
205 |
123 |
82 |
|
|
|
14 |
560 |
49 |
70 |
441 |
221 |
132 |
88 |
|
|
|
15 |
600 |
53 |
75 |
473 |
236 |
142 |
95 |
|
|
|
16 |
640 |
56 |
80 |
504 |
252 |
151 |
101 |
|
|
|
17 |
680 |
60 |
85 |
536 |
268 |
161 |
107 |
|
|
|
18 |
720 |
63 |
90 |
567 |
284 |
170 |
113 |
|
|
|
19 |
760 |
67 |
95 |
599 |
299 |
180 |
120 |
|
|
|
20 |
800 |
70 |
100 |
630 |
252 |
189 |
126 |
63 |
|
|
21 |
840 |
74 |
105 |
662 |
265 |
198 |
132 |
66 |
|
|
22 |
880 |
77 |
110 |
693 |
277 |
208 |
139 |
69 |
|
|
23 |
920 |
81 |
115 |
725 |
290 |
217 |
145 |
72 |
|
|
24 |
960 |
84 |
120 |
756 |
302 |
227 |
151 |
76 |
|
|
25 |
1000 |
88 |
125 |
788 |
315 |
236 |
158 |
79 |
|
|
26 |
1040 |
91 |
130 |
819 |
328 |
246 |
164 |
82 |
|
|
27 |
1080 |
95 |
135 |
851 |
340 |
255 |
170 |
85 |
|
|
28 |
1120 |
98 |
140 |
882 |
353 |
265 |
176 |
88 |
|
|
29 |
1160 |
102 |
145 |
914 |
365 |
274 |
183 |
91 |
|
|
30 |
1200 |
105 |
150 |
945 |
378 |
284 |
189 |
95 |
|
SECTION
5 – “MEMBERS ONLY” TOURNAMENT (MONEY TOURNAMENT)
One of the ten (10) scheduled
tournaments will be designated at the “Members Only” Tournament each year.
“Members Only” Tournament must be scheduled on
An active member must have paid his
annual dues at least thirty (30) days prior to the “Members Only” Tournament to
be eligible to fish that tournament. This includes his associate member.
ARTICLE 7 – TOURNAMENT RULES
(1) The only fish that will be
counted in club tournaments will be LARGEMOUTH, SMALLMOUTH and
(2) All bass must at least
twelve (12) inches long; all other laws apply to the water being fished. The
method of measurement will be with the mouth closed and, with any part of the
tail touching the correct mark, the fish will be
considered legal. Fish will be measured on official rule only. TOURNAMENT
DIRECTOR RULING IS FINAL.
(3) If the lake limit is five
(5) fish per person, then a team can weigh in ten (10) fish total no matter how
many one member catches. The limit for the boat is ten (10) fish. The fish will
count toward the Tournament Awards and Top Team standings. If a member catches
more that five (5) of the total fish caught, the remaining fish must be removed
and the best five only will count toward their yearly standings. Their partner
can only count the fish that they legally caught toward their yearly standings.
This rule is based on the honor system. All limit regulations apply for the
particular body of water being fished.
(4) Any person bringing a bass
that does not meeting the minimum length will be penalized the weight of the
fish plus three (3) pounds. This will be deducted from the tournament total and
the yearly totals. Tournament officers are prohibited from pre-measuring any
fish.
(5) Fish must be caught on
artificial lures only in club scheduled tournaments.
(6) All participants must be
present at the starting location at the specified time, or find another
participant, pay their tournament fees and have their boat checked before they
start to fish. Failure to do so will mean disqualification and loss of two
pounds for participation. Before all tournaments, participants must draw for
starting position. Boats will start one at a time. The highest number drawn
will start the tournament only when told to do so by the Tournament Director.
(7) A grace period of five (5)
minutes shall be allowed for each team to arrive at the specified weigh in site
past the scheduled time. After the grace period, the team will be disqualified
for that days catch and lose that weight but will
still be awarded two pounds from participation.
(8) Trailering of boats during
tournaments is prohibited.
(9) Only two (2) persons may
fish per boat, except in the case of a boat malfunction on the day of the
tournament. Upon a volunteer basis, there may be three (3) members to a boat.
All fish must be separated and allotted to the malfunctioning boat’s team.
(10) In the case of a tie, the participants will
split the prize money accordingly.
(11) There will be a four (4) ounce, (0.25lb)
penalty for any dead fish weighed in. This will be deducted from the total
catch.
(12) Each participant must present their fish for
weighing in separate bags for ease of scoring. Teams failing to do so will have
that days catch disqualified.
(13) Tournament officials cannot call the weight
their fish or their partners’ fish. Another member must call their fish’s weight.
(14) Individuals may fish tournament, but cannot
bring any more than a legal one person limit to the scales.
(15) Teams may switch partners on a two day
tournament. Only the best single days catch will be applied to tournament
prizes. Individuals two day catch will be added for yearly total only.
(16) Big fish money is a side bet and cannot be
withheld from someone that is penalized for short or dead fish. Anyone
disqualified is not eligible for big fish money and the Big
fish money will be awarded to the next largest fish. Big fish bet is $2.50 per
person and will be awarded to the heaviest fish caught in a tournament
regardless of the number of tournament days.
(17) In the event that any or all prize money is not
awarded due to lack of fish caught, the remaining prize money not awarded will
be donated to the Club treasury.
ARTICLE 8 – ANNUAL AWARDS
Individual Standings
Yearly Biggest Fish
Largemouth
– Trophy
Smallmouth
– Trophy
Top Team
Trophy
for each member
ARTICLE 9 – YEARLY TOP TEAM AWARDS
During the ten (10) regular scheduled club tournaments each member has the option to fish with any member (or non member, Article 6 / Section 2-B) he wishes. However the team can have one substitute each per calendar year but only their weight will be counted toward the top team awards for that year. Any other substitute will be counted as a NEW TEAM.
ARTICLE 10 – CHAPTER TEAM (SIX MAN) AND MR BASS TOURNAMENTS
After the final tournament
is completed and the yearly individual standings are completed. The top six members (by
total weight) will be eligible to fish in the Chapter Team (Six-Man) Tournament
held the next year by the Virginia BASS Federation. The top three members will
qualify as “Boaters” and the remaining three will qualify as “Non-Boaters”. In
the event that one of the top 6 cannot attend, or wishes not to attend the
Chapter Team (Six-Man), the 7th place member will be eligible and so
on until the 6 man team is complete. In the event that one the top three
eligible members does not own a boat, or cannot provide a boat for use in the
tournament, then the fourth place member will become eligible as a “Boater” and
so on until the three “Boater” positions are filled. It is acceptable for a
member to finish ahead of an eligible “Boater” in the yearly standings and
still attend the tournament as a “Non-Boater”. Members fishing the Chapter Team
(Six-Man) tournament will receive free entry into the tournament (paid by the
club) plus an amount of money for tournament expenses. This amount will be
decided upon by a vote by the members present at the Club meeting prior to the
Chapter Team (Six-Man) tournament.
After the final tournament
is completed and the yearly individual standings are completed. The top two members (by
total weight) will be eligible to fish in the Mr Bass tournament held the next
year by the Virginia BASS Federation. The top finisher will qualify as the
“Boater” and the second place finisher will qualify as the “Non-Boater”. In the
event that one of the top 2 cannot attend, or wishes not to attend the Mr Bass
tournament, the 3rd place member will be eligible and so on until
the 2 man team is complete. In the event that first eligible member does not
own a boat, or cannot provide a boat for use in the tournament, then the next
eligible member will become eligible as a “Boater” and so on until the “Boater”
position filled. It is acceptable for a member to finish ahead of an eligible
“Boater” in the yearly standings and still attend the tournament as a
“Non-Boater”. Members fishing the Mr Bass tournament will receive free entry
into the tournament (paid by the club) plus an amount of money for tournament
expenses. This amount will be decided upon by a vote by the members present at
the Club meeting prior to the Mr Bass tournament.
ARTICLE 11 –FEDERATION CLASSIC
Members of Triangle Bassmasters, who qualify, through the Virginia BASS Federation tournaments, to fish the “Fall Classic” will be provided with an amount of money for tournament expenses. This amount will be decided upon by a vote by the members present at the Club meeting prior to the “Fall Classic” tournament.
We
the undersigned do hereby abolish all previous By-Laws and do hereby approve
this Constitution and By-Laws. Interpretation of the By-Laws, if needed, will
be accomplished jointly by the Club Officers with the President deciding when a
majority of all Officers cannot agree.
SIGNED
THIS _______________ DAY OF ______________ OF THE YEAR____________
PRESIDENT_________________________________________________________________
VICE-PRESIDENT____________________________________________________________
SECRETARY________________________________________________________________
TREASURER_________________________________________________________________
TOURNAMENT
DIRECTOR____________________________________________________
TRIANGLE
BASSMASTER
540-980-3144